Emirates Airline has taken delivery of the first of eight Airbus A340-300 aircraft that are joining the carrier’s fleet this year.

The airline signed nine-year leases for the fleet with Boeing Aircraft Trading, which acquired them from Singapore Airlines as part of a wider deal. The formal handover followed major checks, repainting and preparations for conversion by Hamburg-based maintenance, repair and overhaul specialists Lufthansa Technik.

The new aircraft can seat up to 12 people in first class, 42 in business class and 213 in economy class. When full, and with 10 tons of freight, airplane can travel non-stop for 10,200 kilometers, for instance, from Dubai to Japan.

Established in 1985, Emirates Airline declared a $247 million profit in the 2002-03 financial year, an increase of 94 percent over the previous year. The Dubai-based carrier plans to more than double its size to 125 aircraft by 2010. — (menareport.com)